Do want to know the most common question that I am asked from people?  It doesn't matter what the venue or how big or small the group I'm speaking to, inevitably, I get the same question everywhere I go. 

The question?  "Why am I able to balance better on one foot than the other?"

I am willing to bet that we all have experienced this, or most of us have in some capacity.  So, what is the reason for this phenomenon?  It's not exactly a short answer, however, I do have one.

I have asked many healthcare professionals regarding this issue.  I have spoken to physicians, therapists, colleagues and everyone else that I thought would have some knowledge as to why we all seem to have a side that we are better with balancing than another.  What is more baffling, it's not always the dominant side!  Now explain that?!  No one seems to have a scientific answer to this question.

So, here's what I know...  For the last seven years, I have observed folks and how they stand, walk, shift their weight from side-to-side and move overall.  Also, I have watched people who are standing and in casual conversation and how they shift their weight and position themselves when talking.  When most folks are talking and standing, possibly with a freind in a casual conversation, they will stand with the majority of their weight shifted to one side or another.  This results with one side becoming more comfortable handling 70%-80% of your bodyweight, while the other side is not.  So, it's not much of a stretch to shift 100% of your bodyweight to that particular side and your body feeling equipped, comfortable and strong enough to handle the weight versus the other side.  The muscles in your leg become stronger and joints become better equiped to handle the entire load of your body.  Also, your brain (nervous system) and all the muscles (muscular system) involved in maintaining that particular position create a significant amount of nueromuscular effeciency.  This means that the pathways between you brain and muscles create a great and very effecient communication network that allows you to maintain that shifted position with ease so you can focus more on the content of your conversation rather than balancing on one side. 

Here is something fun to do.  Start watching your friends and family when you talk with them and both of you are  standing.  Could you identify which side they would have an easier time standing and balancing with on one foot?  

Some folks may think it's common sense when it comes to beginning a workout routine.  For others, it's not so simple, especially if you are dealing with a lack of balance.  My focus and objective when I was developing "Balance University" was to create a simple to follow but very effective, results driven balance program.  And that's what I've done!!

One of the easiest and more simple exercises you can do to improve your balance is called the Single Leg Lateral (pictured above).  This exercise will strengthen your ankles, lower legs and hips creating a more responsive system that can adjust and redirect misteps quickly.  This movement will also greatly improve the communication network system between your brain, spine and muscular system.  This is ,otherwise, known as neuromuscular efficiency.  The benefit to increased neuromuscular effeciency means that when your brain detects your body becoming unstable and unbalanced, you will be able to adjust and adapt quickly.  This improved system will result in less falls, which means more confidence and less worry for you and your loved ones.

You can find this exercise, along with others like it, in Balance University!

When you work, results follow!

Balance deteriorates as we age and there’s nothing you can do to prevent this natural process. The reason? It all begins with your brain and the way it communicates with the muscular system. As we get older, the synapses in our brain get farther apart, we lose a few connections here and there and on top of all of that, the signals do not travel as quickly as they did when we were younger. Now, this is the “watered-down” version of that story but that will suffice for our purposes of understanding how balance works.

Your brain and spine make up the nervous system. Your muscles make up your muscular system. Our muscular system is attached to our bones, which is the skeletal system, otherwise, we would be big a pile of flesh, cartlidge and muscle on the floor. Our nervous system communicates to our muscular system and those messages, or electrical signals, activates our muscles and instructs their movements. Our balance depends on how well these two systems communicate.

We can do exercises to help improve our balance significantly! However, you have to work at it. Improving your balance requires consistency and progressively harder exexrcises.

Balance University is designed to increase and improve the communication network between your nervous system and your muscular system. The exercises in balance university are organized in such a way, that each week the exercises get progressively harder. In return, you will be challenged each week, within your boundaries, and you will see your balance improve.

Now, the more you put into it, the more you get out of it. If you look at the picture above, you will see the balance university key (colorful circle with arrows and words). Balance University is based on this key. However, YOU DO NOT NEED EQUIPMENT! I have included substitutes for every exercise that uses equipment that you can do at home. Balance University will improve your balance!

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and is gearing up for the new year!

Becoming healthier takes practice... in all of my years in this industry, I have heard hundreds of clients talk about how they are going to “start now” or “starting on [insert day/date here]”. The truth is, getting healthier takes effort and practice. You are changing habits and that takes a bit of time. Very few people can “flip” a switch and change everything over night and KEEP it that way. To be honest, this may not be the best way either! Why? As if it’s not enough to change your diet and exercise habits... think of all that time you don’t have to add more tasks to your day for meal prepping, and that hour long session with your trainer or fitness class.

So what do you do? Pace yourself... remember, this is a marathon NOT a sprint. I tell my clients to change one meal at a time. Let’s work on breakfast, for instance. Stop eating whatever it was that you were eating and let’s eat some oatmeal and hard boiled eggs (these are not the only healthy options). Same with the exercise. Let’s find three days out of the week to focus on exercise and create a habit. Once we can consistently handle these changes and they become part of our life (the idea is to execute these changes consistently for 1-3 weeks before adding more changes) then we will add a few more.

Don’t put yourself under unnecessary pressure and try to change everything overnight. You can do it and I’m here to help.

Shoot me an email if you need some motivation or more tips! Have a safe and happy New Year’s celebration!!

Balance University is the summation of 16 years of experience in the “field” working with clients, education and numerous certifications, years of teaching balance classes and pretty much everything else I’ve learned in my life. It has taken me two years to put the right program together. I believe, after all the revisions and feedback from physical therapists, occupational therapists, nurses, physicians and fellow colleagues whom I respect greatly, this is the best of what this community knows, put into a 10-week program. I did not want to make this book overwhelming. Instead, I chose to make the program and the book simple, easy to read, include lots of pictures and make dang sure it gets results!!

There is no doubt in my mind, this program works. I am extremely proud of it and proud of those who have helped me to develop it.

So... here goes! If you or someone you know is struggling with balance, I hope that you do yourself and/or them a favor and buy this book. I promise, you will not be sorry!

The 3 Exercises You Should Be  Doing:
These three exercises strengthen your core and we all know, the stronger the core, the stronger the person.  Get the most out of your time in the gym.  The more muscle you activate, the more calories you will burn during the workout and after.

Train smart, train hard...

1.  Front squat to press

You can do this exercise with a pre-set barbell or, if you don't have the flexibility in the wrists and forearms, you can do it with dumbbells.  This exercise activates the core by having the load in the front of your body, your body will  activate more muscle throughout the glute, hip complex, pectorals, delts and lats.

2.  Deadlift (Barbell or dumbbells)

The deadlift is a great movement to increase lower body and core strength.  You will also improve your grip strenth.  There are many different versions to the deadlift and you'll get different opinions but I like placing my feet at hip width and placing my hands at a shoulder width on the bar so that they are outside of my legs when I descend.  This exercise burns maximum calories and builds maximum muscle.  

3.  Chest press (includes push-ups, bench press, ect...)

The good 'ol push up is a timeless exercise.  The primary muscle are the pectorals, but the lats, rhomboids, triceps and shoulders are all being activated in this movement.  You can do these on a stability ball, alternate arms up and down when using dumbbells's.  The options are limitless and the more challenging you make it, the muscle is being placed under stress, and it will react to that stress by growing in size and increasing endurance.

There are lots of core exercises out there.  Doing any of them is better than doing none of them.  But some are definitely better for runners than others.
 
A strong core—strong abdominal and low-back muscles—enhances running performance and may reduce injury risk.  The best core exercises for runners are those that mimic the specific ways the core muscles are required to
work during running. Here are three moves that do just
that.
 
1.  Supine March 

Why it’s good for runners:  Core stability begins with the transverse abdominis, a deep abdominal muscle that needs to hold the right amount of tension to prevent excessive movement of the pelvis and lumbar spine during running.  The greatest challenge this muscle faces in running is maintaining  appropriate tension while the legs move freely and alternately. The Supine March is a great exercise for runners because it administers that very challenge in a controlled way.

How to do it:  Lie face up in the floor with both knees sharply bent and your feet flat on the floor.  Press your low back into the floor.  While concentrating on keeping your low back pressed into the floor, lift your left leg until your left foot comes even with your right knee.  Now lower the foot back to the floor.  Repeat with the right leg.  Continue until you begin to feel an uncomfortable burn in your tummy, up to 20 reps per leg.


 2.  Standing Trunk Rotation with Cable

Why it’s good for runners:  One of the important jobs of the core muscles during running is to control rotational forces.  Among the biggest energy wasters in running is excessive rotation of the hips, pelvis, and/or spine.  The Standing Rotation with Cable isolates and intensifies this particular
challenge.

How to do it: Stand with your left side facing a cable pulley station with a handle attached at shoulder height.  Grasp the handle with both hands and both arms fully extended.  Begin with your torso rotated toward the handle and tension in  the cable (i.e. the weight stack is slightly elevated from the resting position).  Rotate your torso to the right while keeping your arms fully
extended and the handle in line with the center of your chest.  Keep your eyes focused on the handle as you rotate and your hips locked forward.  Return to the start position without allowing the weight stack to come to rest.  Complete 12 repetitions, then reverse your position and repeat the
exercise.


3.  Suitcase Deadlift

Why it’s good for runners:  Running is all about moving against gravity in an upright position.  Most core exercises don’t mimic this fundamental element of running. The Suitcase Deadlift does.  In particular, it trains the oblique muscles on the sides of the torso to do what they are asked to do
during running, which is to keep the torso vertically in line with the legs against resistance.  The low back muscles are also challenged in a running-specific way in this exercise.

How to do it:  Stand with your arms hanging at your sides and a dumbbell in one hand. Push your hps back, bend the knees, and reach the dumbbell down as close to the floor as you can without rounding your lower back.  Now stand up again.  Don’t allow your torso to tilt to either side while
performing this movement.  Complete 10 repetitions, rest for 30 seconds, then repeat the exercise while holding the dumbbell in the opposite hand.

Read more:  http://www.theactivetimes.com/3-best-core-exercises-runners